Golf is one of the most popular sports in the world. It appeals to many because it is played in a restful atmosphere and provides a healthy activity that is not rigorous or conducive to athletic injuries as are many other sports. As such, numerous golf courses can be found in virtually all industrialized countries.
A golf course occupies a large area of land, in typically providing at least one full course of 18 "holes". Each hole consists of a tee from which golfers start play on the hole, a "fairway" along which the grass has been cut to provide a fair lie for the golf ball and which may include natural or artificial hazards such as sand traps and/or water hazards, and a "putting green" which consists of a patch of finely cut grass surrounding a cup, which according to the objects of golf is the target into which the golfer tries to place the ball using as few strokes as possible.
Golf has evolved rigid rules and standards, and golf courses tend to be carefully maintained in accordance with those rules and standards. Fairways are are kept evenly trimmed and hazards are kept well defined. However, much of the effort and expense of maintaining a golf course is spent on the putting greens in particular, which must be finely trimmed and maintained in meticulous condition.
The putting greens are distinct from the rest of the golf course in other respects, being the one area of the golf course at which a golfer is permitted to pick up his or her golf ball for cleaning and the only part of the hole on which the golfer uses a putter. These features and the fine cut of the grass on the putting green are intended to reduce as much as possible obstacles to putting the golf ball into the cup, so that the golfer's so-called "short game" is almost entirely reliant upon the skill of the golfer and is relatively uninfluenced by extraneous factors such as uneven ground or other obstacles.
The putter itself is specially designed to provide maximum control, and the striking surface or "putter face" of the putter must be maintained unmarred for maximum performance. The newer generations of putter heads tend to be made from softer materials such as plastics, an/or include soft inserts such as the "Stronomic" (Trademark) insert manufactured by Odyssey, which are easily scratched and marred. This problem is exacerbated by the manner in which the putter is transported about a golf course, in a bag with many other golf clubs many of which have metal club heads. Conventional soft or flexible club head protectors are generally sufficient to properly protect the putter head as a whole, but do not provide extra protection for the putter face and are often awkward to use.
A certain degree of deterioration of the golf course results from the play of successive rounds of golf, as golfers dig divots out of the fairways with their golf clubs and leave ball marks on the finely trimmed putting greens where golf balls land and bounce to a rest position. With a view to maintaining the golf course in good condition, golfers are expected to replace their divots and to repair ball marks left on a putting green. The putting green in particular, being a relatively confined space that experiences a high concentration of activity, is especially difficult to maintain during a busy golf day. Thus, the continuing repair of ball marks is very important to the enjoyment of the game of golf by successive golfers over the course of a day.
However, the proper repair of ball marks on a putting green requires a special tool that will not damage the underlying ground or remove grass, and golfers frequently find themselves on the green without such a tool immediately available. Golf is a game that requires intense concentration, and frequently golfers are too involved in the game, particularly at the putting green, to remember either to repair their ball marks or to bring or use a tool suitable for properly repairing ball marks to the putting green (particularly given that the ball mark is usually located some distance from where the golf ball actually comes to rest on the putting green). Any ball mark repair tool must be compact and convenient to use, and must not interfere with the normal routines of the golfer or the other equipment used by the golfer during a game of golf, or the golfer will not use it. For example, a ball mark repair tool may be carried in a golfer's golf bag or pocket, but is easily forgotten because it is out of sight when the ball mark must be repaired. Golfers tend to carry a damp towel in their golf bag for cleaning the golf ball on the putting green, but this is generally inconvenient since the golf bag is not brought onto the putting green and is therefore not immediately accessible when the golfer needs to clean his or her ball.
It would accordingly be advantageous to provide a compact tool which can be used by a golfer on the putting green to repair ball marks, which is immediately accessible to the golfer but does not interfere with the play or equipment used by the golfer. It would further be advantageous for such a device to include a protector to protect the putter face of a putter head, which would ensure that the ball mark repair tool is immediately accessible to a golfer on the putting green. It would further be advantageous for such a device to include means for cleaning the golfer's golf ball.